Real Firepower

Today's Forecast Calls For A Hail of Bullets

The most powerful standard weapon in the game is, without a doubt, the M-249 SAW (Squad Assault Weapon) light machine gun. I've run into creatures that shrug off my entire load of .357, or they get me before I can finish them with the MP5. Those are the times I just know it's time to put my stock in old faithful and let it rip. Whether it's a room full of black ops bunny-rabbit chicks or the toughest alien SOB on two (or more) legs, nothing is more persuasive for them to get down and stay down.

Doh, you gotta give back the gun

One word - Doh!

Naturally, you must understand that the SAW eats through ammo supplies like Homer Simpson goes through donuts. A seemingly comfy reserve of 150 rounds of the 5.56mm that SAW uses can disappear in less than a fraction of a minute. If not for reload times, I'd doubt you could go 10 seconds of uninterrupted fire. Add in the scarcity of the ammo itself, and you begin to understand why I never simply run around with this potent weapon. I only pull it out in the most dire situations, after stepping into a room I know I shouldn't have…

This is a Little Funky...

Yes, those kooky mad scientists who brought you the alien invasion and the gauss gun have come up with another insane idea. It's no wonder the marines have orders to shoot them the moment they aren't immediately beneficial. Their latest device is the displacer gun. It works a lot like the BFG 10K from Quake II, though it tends to be more concentrated and does most of its damage to the one target you actually manage to hit. Ammunition for this baby is surprisingly abundant and yet I never seem to get desperate enough to use it. It always seems like a huge risk to whip it out and fire. It could be the long charge up time or something, but I really hesitate to use it. The alternate fire is really weird and has some seriously questionable uses. Namely, it transports you to Xen. Why would you want to go there? Well, the places you tend to end up in are usually quite harmless and contain some nice goodies for you - healing pools or weapons and ammo.

Freakin' bunny rabbits with guns

Funky

What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor...

Remember those things that hang from ceilings and let their tongues drop to the floor? The ones that then suck you up and proceed to chow down on your soon-to-be-broken remains? That's a barnacle and it's actually a weapon in OpFor. He'll grab on to your enemies and bring them to you for an up close and personal death, or if the enemy is fixed/too heavy, he'll drag you there! Obviously there are times you don't want to be brought in close, such as the first time I tried the barnacle on a human - I wanted to steal him away from his mounted machine gun… too bad I ended up being dragged into that wall of bullets! However, this is actually quite useful (and necessary) sometimes, as you will end up using the barnacle like a grappling hook. It only latches onto organic things, so there's very little chance of using it to bypass puzzles or break up scripted sequences.

The uhh... Rocket Launcher?

Probably the most amusing weapon in the entire game is the alien spore launcher. You pet it, treat it right, feed it spores (via reloading - it's really amusing to see yourself feeding an alien creature in the midst of combat) and in return, it causes the kind of havoc and destruction you'd never think was possible from a pet. Loads 5 spores at a time, with 20 in reserve.

Alright you got yourself a squad

An empty room - it's gotta be a trap

Shock Rifle

The shock rifle is a bit of a misnomer, since this beastie doesn't look anything like a rifle. Great weapon though - it does a lot of damage (more than the glock, less than the .357), it doesn't need ammo (comes with 10 shots that recharge fairly quickly) and it's as good for underwater use as the original Quake Lightning Gun!